Mine Creek Revelations by Louie Graves: Music to March By

I cannot shake it, and I am unable to move on to another tune or to blessed silence.

I’m just stuck with the music until for some reason it just goes away. Sometimes the tune is great; sometimes it qualifies for enduring torture.

Early, early Sunday morning while out on my neighborhood stroll, I realized I was walking in a military marching cadence to the theme music from an old television show. The tune was firmly in charge before I even realized that I was marching briskly in its grip.

The tune was from a television series named “The West Point Story,” Sometimes it was just called “West Point.” It was aired 1956-57 on CBS; and 1957-58 on ABC. I was in junior high.

The show was said to be real life stories of the cadets at the nation’s military academy. A number of actors who would later become real stars made appearances. Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, among them. There were few female roles because the service academies of the day were strictly male.

It was pretty popular, and it apparently inspired a number of young men to join the Army.

This really upset the Navy, so a year later on another network a series, “Men of Annapolis,” was born. It was about — guess what — real life stories of the midshipmen at the nation’s naval academy. A number of actors who would later become real stars made appearances. You wouldn’t recognize many of the names, though.

The Annapolis series was written almost completely by a guy named Gene Roddenberry. Heard of him? This COULD be the reason most of our nation’s astronauts have been Navy or Marines.

But the Annapolis show’s music isn’t the one that got stuck between my ears, Sunday. It was the music from ‘West Point.’ Golly, at this point I can’t even recall the music from Annapolis.

The main difference in the two shows, other than the uniforms the Cadets and the Midshipmen wore to class, was their relationships with the townie girls.

See, most of the weekly plots dealt with students and the ladies.

For the West Point cadets, theirs were chaste encounters with the townies.

But the Midshipmen were just junior sailors, after all, and so the chaste part just got tossed over the fantail (that’s some Navy jargon and I’ll have to explain it some other time).

Taaaaaaa, ta ta taaa, taaaaaa.

I’m sure you recognize the tune by now, and I hope it doesn’t get stuck between your ears.

Mr. Google helped me find the theme music for both shows. West Point’s music was far superior to Annapolis. This is one heck of an admission because I am an old sailor.

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ONE OF THE GUESTS at Wednesday’s meeting of the Nashville Rotary Club was Brittany Hooper. Brittany, along with Cassi Mounts and Amanda Culpepper, accompanied Rotarian Glenn Lance. They work in his dental office.

I couldn’t help but notice that Brittany was getting around on crutches.

Her boss didn’t comment upon it when he introduced her, but I am fairly sure she injured herself by flossing vigorously.

Taaaaaaa, ta ta taaa, taaaaaa.

Too bad television’s not-so-vast wasteland of the 50s didn’t include some exciting shows about dental hygienist students and their encounters with townie boys who had cavities.

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ANIMAL CRACKERS. I forgot to mention last week that I had been hearing the call of the cicadas. And by the time I remembered to mention it, they were gone. A new generation of insect eggs is buried back in the earth awaiting the call of another summer.

Some cicada species come out every summer. Some are on seven-year cycles, and some are on even longer cycles.

Every now and then, all of the cycles coincide and things really get loud.

Taaaaaaa, ta ta taaa, taaaaaa. Makes me want to get out and march.

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LET’S TAKE A quick survey. Everyone who likes the ‘new’ automatic telephone answering system at the Howard County courthouse raise your hand. I thought so.

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THINGS I LEARNED from opening (and believing) email: Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

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WORD GAMES. The twins: Seeing and Believing. Sometimes people say Seeing IS Believing. In that case it’s just one person. Trust your own eyes.

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HE SAID: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. President

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SHE SAID: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Harriet Tubman, escaped slave